Rest of My Life
by bazzer
Summary: Santana thinks dating Finn is a lot like what dating Brittany would be like just, you know, without any of the good parts. Brittana, some Finntana and Bartie with mild Finn-bashing


Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Sad, right? I could use the money. And the Golden Globes, cause how sweet was that, right? Eh, the style is a little run-on but it's supposed to be a thought process… and yeah, sure, that story will work. Also it's four in the morning.

_Technically_ it's Finntana (groan) because they're together in this, but seriously it's Brittana with some mild Finn-bashing. No offense Finn-fans. I think he's a okay guy. Has anyone figured out that Brittany's my favorite character yet?

That's all I got. Enjoy. I hope. Let me know, okay?

_kthxbye_, bazzer

Title: Rest of My Life - Blessed Union of Souls

_I know we've talked about being good friends _

_So we've been real careful of the signals we've sent _

_But all of your glances they came and the went to my head_

Part 1 of 2: Santana

* * *

Santana Lopez finds herself sitting in the last row of the auditorium after glee rehearsal one Thursday afternoon. She watches as Brittany and Mike go through the motions of the routine for the umpteenth time trying to help Finn figure out the steps. Rachel is sitting off to one side of the stage with her shoes next to her, a bag of ice on her toes and Quinn laughing behind her. The dark Cheerio knows that she should be pissed that her boyfriend of a month is dancing the lead with the dwarf, and she made a good show of acting that way when the lineup was revealed, but really an act was all it was. She smirks openly when her blonde best friend throws up her hands in exasperation at Finn's fumbling and Mr. Schue drops his head into his hand with a shake. But then Brittany is waving at Tina to take her place with Mike as she walks up to Finn and stands with her back to him. She grabs his hands and sets them on her sides, rotating her hips and kicking back to nudge his foot into the next step and something jumps inside the Latina.

Santana frowns as she regards the two of them. She thinks that dating Finn should be a lot like what it would be like to date Brittany. Just without any of the benefits. The two did have a lot in common what with their long frames, puppy dog like mannerisms, and general misunderstanding of the world. But it was those similarities that made the differences stand out like neon signs in the middle of the night.

Finn's limbs were gangly in the way Brittany's were graceful, making the way they moved different despite their similar structure and in turn effected the confidence in which they approached the world. Finn was awkward and his movements jerky, like he was just becoming aware of how long his arms were every time he swung them in a different direction. His confidence was pathetically effected by other people's opinions and he couldn't take criticism without taking on that kicked puppy look and instead of standing up for himself he shrunk back and let other's do his thinking for him. Not to mention he was kind of doughy and soft muscle, and seriously, did he ever actually work out?

Brittany, on the other hand, was all lean muscle and lithe movements. She'd been involved in dance her entire life, much like her mother, and it showed in her ever motion. She was never unsure of her placement or insecure in her appearance, even when other girl's made snarky comments. People often thought that it was Santana that had instilled that sort of confidence in the Dutch girl, but it was actually the other way around. Brittany didn't have the guile needed for sarcasm and she'd been raised with such a frank attitude that lying never occurred to her. So when she looked at Santana and told her that she was beautiful (and later on changed it to hot, when Santana taught her the importance of the word) and that other girl's were just jealous of them, the darker girl couldn't help but believe her. And Brittany took great length to care for her body, because let's face it, Cheerios work-outs were comparable only to ops training for Navy SEALs, in addition to her training in four different disciplines of dance (two of which she taught classes in), motocross, and Tai Chi. Not to mention her summers playing water polo, soccer and the cross country coach's desperate attempts to recruit her for the last three years.

So, yeah, long frames and height were one thing to have in common except that every thing between the tops of their heads and the soles of their shoes was completely different. Even in the way they moved in relation to other people. Santana thinks she might actually hate the way Finn would drape his arm over her shoulders when they walked together in the hall. She was never that into physical contact, so she seriously did not need his six foot freaking three frame hanging all over her while she walked, suffocating her with his nasty damp heat and the smell of his aftershave. Britt knew that, which is why she always let Santana initiate contact in public, even if it was against her nature, and why she sufficed with linked pinkies in the halls where Santana would need full range of motion with her free arm.

Then there was the way they were in private. Finn was all hands and tongue when they were making out. It was probably because he was deprived when he was with the Hobbit, but that didn't give him permission to act that way with Santana. He shook, too, and apologized when he'd over-stepped a boundary set up by his two previous girlfriends. Brittany never had to say sorry because she hit all the right spots the first time. Hell, there was good chance the blonde knew her body, her turn-on's and hang ups better than Santana did because she _never _disappointed. And Finn? Well, she wasn't even going to think about that. The thought of being surrounded by the boy after that particular activity was nausea-inducing whereas pulling Britt's arm around her and feeling the other girl pressed flush against her back was second nature. She bet he snored too.

But it wasn't just the physical either. They both said stupid things, things that other people just ignored, and things that made Santana roll her eyes. Except one was out of affection and the other was exasperation. The way Finn would grin and just keep talking showed that he couldn't tell the difference and Brittany's suppressed smirk proved that she could. There was a difference, too, in actually being that dense and appearing that way. Santana knew Brittany wasn't stupid, she couldn't be because no one should be able to memorize Sue Sylvester's routines after one go through, or learn Beyonce's moves as well as she did Stravinsky's. Plus she maintained a C average (enough to keep her on the Cheerios even after Schuster's attempts to purge Sue of her cheerleaders) with all the activities she was involved in. So what if every once in a while she confuses words, it wasn't really her fault considering she was born and lived in Holland until she was nine and English wasn't her first language, hell, it wasn't even her second as her Opa had taught her French in her early life.

So, what was Finn's excuse? Okay, he played three sports, but so did Mike and Matt and they were able to maintain A and B averages, respectively. Maybe if he spent less time playing video games and more time actually trying he wouldn't have to cheat off of Brittany in Spanish because Schue was already making it cake for them and it wouldn't take that much effort to pull a B in that class. It was just that some of the things he would say just set her teeth on edge and _seriously _what kind of idiot cheats off of _Britt_?

And no, Santana didn't know if her best friend actually believed that her cat was reading her diary or if dolphins were just gay sharks or that the square root of two is rainbows but who cares. Those comments don't come from ignorance or stupidity, more likely than not it was from that part of the brain that everyone has that makes them think weird and irrational shit. Britt just lacked a filter. And honestly Santana likes a little bit of crazy in her girl, it makes things interesting.

She has to explain things to both of them, things you wouldn't expect to have to explain. It's easier with Brittany, of course, because she's used to the way the blonde thought and the way her mind wondered. And hell yes the rewards for her patience are pretty effin' stellar, but it wasn't just the physical rewards either, it was little things. Like her mega-watt smile and the way it makes Santana light headed when its directed solely at her. Finn took longer to explain things to because he'd never come right out and ask for help and by the time she did explain it he just kind of smirks because he still doesn't understand and he thinks Santana might not either. And if she has to hear him say "Hey, you _were_ right" one more time after he reads the next freaking paragraph that says exactly what she just said she might actually smash his face into the damn textbook.

They do get the same hang-dog expression when she yells at them or says something hurtful. After that though Finn usually follows her around for a bit and then says he's sorry, even if it's Santana's fault, because like she said he doesn't really ever stand up for himself. Then she would roll her eyes and he takes that to mean he's forgiven (even though he doesn't understand any of it) and circles his arm around her shoulders making her teeth clench and her stomach twist because she's still really fuckin' pissed. Brittany, on the other hand, knows exactly what it means (even if she doesn't know what it's about) and she waits until Santana comes to her and no one apologizes. Then there is forgiveness in the form of an offered pinkie and a chaste kiss to the cheek and everything is back to normal. It's only happened twice (the first was after the blonde's revelation of their relationship to the Gleeks and the second after their fight over those stupid duets) because it ties her insides in knots to know that Brittany is upset because of her. The Latina tries _really _hard not to yell at Brittany or say things that hurt her. With Finn, well, they've only been dating for a month but she's already lost track of how many times it's happened and his kicked puppy expression just serves to annoy here more.

"Oomph!" Brittany's on the ground and Santana's half out of her seat before she realizes it.

"Sorry!" Finn hovers over the blonde and waves his hand, "Oh man, are you okay, B?"

There is a mumbled response, but she lets him hoist her back up to her feet so Santana settles back into her seat. He still looks upset though, and Brittany pats him on the shoulder and in the back row the Cheerio rolls her eyes because Brittany was comforting the lug that just dropped her. They try to go through the routine one more time but now Finn's movements are slower, more refrained, and he's treading cautiously like his ad hoc partner was made of glass which is stupid because Santana has seen the girl dislocate her shoulder by being thrown from a dirt bike without tearing up. Brittany was anything but frail.

Santana leans forward to rest her elbows on her knees and prop up chin in her open palms. Maybe she's being a but unfair to the boy. After all he was kind of a step up from Puck. He was a gentleman, or tried to be at the very least. When he picked her up for a date he came to the door and rang the doorbell, which was better than Puck honking his horn until Santana came out with her mother's disapproving frown on her back. It wasn't like Brittany, either, as she just came in the front door without even knocking, like she lived there. She would even find Santana's mom first, usually in the kitchen or the den, and press a kiss to the woman's cheek in greeting and bump fists with her dad if he were home. As far as they were concerned Britt was practically family, she even had her own key. Finn had never met her father and he spoke slower to her mother because she was Puerto Rican. Santana never bothered to mention that her mom's family had moved to the States when she was four and she spoke English better than she spoke Spanish, she just liked the confused look on her mom's face way too much. Santana tried to picture a time in her relationship where Finn would just walk in the front door with the familiarity the Brittany did, but it didn't pan out.

Mr. Schue must have called it quits because every one that was left was either jumping off the stage heading down the aisles. Rachel and Quinn made it to her first, the brunette was limping slightly while the blonde followed with both their bags sling over one shoulder.

"I thought you left over an hour ago, Santana," Rachel frowned curiously.

She hummed in response, focused on the stage where Brittany was batting away Finn's attempts to help her down the stairs. She thought about asking either one of the two girls how they could stand to be in a relationship with Frankenteen for an extended period of time without wanting to destroy something, but stopped herself.

The diva turned wide eyes on the Head Cheerio, shocked at the lack of a biting response, but Quinn was following her fellow cheerleader's line of sight. Finally she smirked and nudged the smaller girl forwards, "Don't worry about her, she's just protecting her territory."

Santana didn't have it in her to ask who the blonde was referring to.


End file.
